NSW State Title / SKA Nationals March 4-5 2017 - Report and photos by Riccardo Benvenuti

2017 CAMS NSW Motor Race Championship Round 1Sydney Motorsport Park GardnerMarch 4th & 5thSuperKarts NSW & NationalsOne of the hottest summers on record had finally come to an end, and the arrival of autumn also coincided with the start of the NSW Motor Race Championship. Leading up to this event Sydney was hit by bad weather, and it would continue throughout the weekend. This meet at Sydney Motorsport Park would also host a round of the National Superkart series and the format was split evenly between the National drivers and the State contingence. Both would participate in one qualifying session and four races.

State SeriesThe state Superkarts came out to qualify late Saturday Morning and Paul Degan made the most of the slippery condition to claim pole, alongside him was Mitchell Quirk. The second row was occupied by Stewart Matthews and Laurence Fooks. The fastest of the class 2 Karts was Mark Vickers ( 5th position) and highest qualifying 85cc kart ( class 3) was Scott Jamieson. With all positions settled the drivers where ready for the first two races to be held Saturday afternoon.Mark Vickers was not able to make the staring grid and had to commence the first race while in the pits. A clean start by all, Quirk and Fooks lead the field into turn 2 and where closely followed by Degan and Matthews. Degan and Quirk took control at the front and diced for the lead for the duration of the race. Matthew held on to the leading duo as best as he can while fourth position driver Fooks was losing ground to the pace setters.Plenty of midfield battles intensified; Allan Parker, David Fimeri and Jack Makay more often than not diced for the same piece of road while the battle between Ken Williams and Allan Dodge was a pleasure to watch. The first race went to Degan who in turn was only 1 tenth of a second in front of Quirk. 3rd place went to a hard charging Matthews. The first Kart home in class two was Leigh Grant (5th) while class 3 win went to Scott Jamieson. The conditions on the track where treacherous and all competitors did extremely well by just staying on the black stuff, only 3 DNF out of 23 starters was a great effort by all.Race two also held on Saturday afternoon with similar conditions to the first race. Fooks made a brilliant start and was followed by Degan, Quirk and Matthews. The leaders arrived at turn two and made it around with no major incident, unfortunately that cannot be said about the rest of the field. Justin Levis, Adam Blattman and Leigh Grant came together resulting in all 3 Karts spinning towards the outfield at turn 2. Grant’s Kart found its way at least 10m off the track while Levis and Blattman got going again to re-join the back of the field. Grant had to step out of his machine to push it towards terra ferma, eventually re-joining after having lost plenty of time.Like the previous race the four leading karts broke away, Tony Moit was circulating in a comfortable fifth position while Parker, Vickers and Blake Roese battled for sixth. Behind them was another great dice between Dodge, Fimeri and Lauren Shand. The final result was Fooks 1st, Matthew 2nd and Quirk 3rd. 1st home in Class 2 was Moit while Jamieson won class 3 maintaining his perfect record.The sun came out just before the start of the third race, this would be a welcome change for the drivers. On a dry track Fooks made a brilliant start finding himself in the lead, he was closely followed by Degan, Matthew and Quirk. By the third lap Matthews claimed a short lived lead as it was Degan’s turn the following lap. This spirited battle lasted the whole race, and it was the same in the midfield; Dodge, Moit, Grant, Parker and Jamieson swapped position till the end. The final result was Fook 1st, Degan 2nd and Matthews 3rd. The winner in class 2 was Vickers while Jamieson took out Class 3.The fourth and final race was held late Sunday afternoon and it was back to wet weather running. Fooks continued where he left off in the previous race, he lead every lap to take another win making it three wins for the round. Matthew and Degan fought a great battle for second position, Matthew prevailed finishing 2nd while Degan made an error and fell down the field. Quirk capitalized at front to claim 3rd rewarding his tenacity and hard work. Allan Parker had a moment at turn two while dicing with the pack, he was fortunate to continue racing without much time loss. Vickers was again the first home in class 2 and in class 3 there was no finishers.A great start of the NSW series with large field and great racing, bring on the next round.

National

Qualifying was held in very wet conditions and this made it difficult for the drivers, however Ilya Harpas showed plenty of control in the wet to claim pole. The experienced Gary Pegoraro was second fastest while the second row consisted of Anton Stevens (who recovered from a spin at turn 17) and Yiani Harpas. The fastest 125cc driver was Mark Robin in 5th.Pegoraro made a brilliant start in the first race and was closely followed by the pole sitter Ilya Harpas. These two drivers were lapping nearly 3 second per lap faster than their nearest rival. Stevens settled in a lonely 3rd position and Yiani Harpas did the same in 4th. The two leaders where in full control of the race and their respective machinery, both driving at 10 tenth for the duration of the race.Paul Campbell found himself in the dice of the race with fellow combatants; Mark Robin, Chryss Jamieson and Aaron Cogger. These four drivers were only a few seconds apart throughout the race, in the heat of the battle these drivers swapped position and exchanged racing lines to the delight of the onlookers. Pegoraro prevailed from Ilya Harpas to take out the race win by less than a second. Stevens finished a distant 3rd karts while Yiani Harpas arrived home 4th. In the 125cc class it was Robin who took the honours from Campbell.Race two was held late Saturday afternoon on a drying track, as the Karts went around for the formation lap in readiness of the rolling start there were some early DNF. John Dunn, Anthony Cristallo and Mark Cella- Sartor all retired without even competing on lap. Up front it was again the Pegoraro and Ilya Harpas show, these two driver continued their form from the first race and battled till the end. Pegoraro crossed the line just ahead of his rival in the first four laps, however while pushing hard to stay ahead he made a slight mistake, Ilya Harpas did not hesitate and took over the lead and the subsequent win. Pegoraro had to settle for a gallant 2nd. Stevens had a strong race finishing 3rd. Cogger came home 1st in the 125cc class.The third race was held during Sunday morning in somewhat dryer conditions. As the karts came out in their warm up lap Jeff Reed slowed to halt at the end of Pit Exit, his Kart engine was working but no gear could be engaged. That was the first retirement in what was to be a fairly high attrition race. As the flag dropped Ilya Harpas, Pegoraro and Stevens took control of the race and within a few laps the trio had a sizable lead. The dicing in the midfield was just as intense; Cristallo, Mario Todarello and Robert Trimmer traded places thought out the race. Steven retired his kart while he was in a comfortable third place, this promoted Yiani Harpas. In the end Ilya Harpas edged out Pegoraro to take the win, Yiani Harpas finished 3rd; the winning 125cc kart was Robin in 4th.The rains returned for the fourth and final race and in this race Stevens made a brilliant start from the back of the grid to find himself in second position by the end of the initial lap. Karts were sliding around more than normal, a combination of water and oil dropped by other categories in previous races. Jamieson was one of the casualties of the conditions, his kart spun to a halt at turn 5 resulting in a retirement. At front Ilya Harpas was leading while Pegoraro and Stevens diced for second place. Ilya won the race making it three from four races, Stevens managed a great 2nd considering his starting position while Yiani Harpas finished 3rd overtaking Pegoraro at the end of the race. Campbell finished 1st in the 125cc class (7th overall).